Lesotho

CERF provides $6.2 million in response to food insecurity in Lesotho

CERF provides $2.7 million for Lesotho food crisis response

16 September 2011: Some $2.7 million was provided from the CERF for UN agencies to respond to a food security crisis in Lesotho. Heavy rains caused widespread destruction to Lesotho’s farming in late 2010 and early 2011. Food security assessments showed that food shortages caused by the rains had combined with already high food prices to cause acute vulnerability, particularly among poorer households.

Nearly $1.6 million was allocated by the CERF to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), enabling it to provide agricultural support to 75,000 people. Agricultural trade fairs were organized in the worst-affected areas, and seeds and fertilisers were provided to support food production during the next planting season.

The World Food Programme (WFP) used $1.1 million of CERF funding to launch a ‘food for work’ programme, benefiting 15,000 of the poorest people affected. Food distributions focused on vulnerable groups such as female-headed households and children.